Alistair Wood

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My Family and Other Spies

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This book is simply stunning. It might be the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read about post-war SIS, and Alistair’s unique (an overused word, but in this sense, entirely justified) perspective allows him to draw back the curtain on one of the most secretive organisations in the world, in a way that nobody else has done, or could do. The story of JBW is picaresque, intriguing, dramatic and a window onto the frontlines of World War II and Cold War spying, offering insights I have never before seen on the printed page. It’s also a moving personal story about a son’s attempt to understand his father, and very funny in an understated, British way. This is a book that everyone interested in British Intelligence will devour, shaking their heads in disbelief at the extraordinary stories as they do so

My Family and Other Spies is a remarkable insight into British intelligence in the Cold War, eloquently told through the unlikely but compelling medium of a family memoir and with all the intrigue and suspense of a truly gripping espionage novel

Alex Gerlis, bestselling author of Agent in Berlin and Every Spy A Traitor

A compelling personal journey to uncover the truth and an intimate view into one of Britain’s most secretive organisations

As a boy, Alistair Wood lived within the walls of an MI6 training camp. After all, he was family. His mother was one of a handful of women to have operated behind the lines in post-war Berlin. His father, once one of Britain’s most highly-regarded intelligence officers, was an absent and perplexing figure, the reasons for his sudden departure from the Service still classified to this day. 
My Family and Other Spies is a gripping exploration of an extraordinary family, a globe-trotting spy story spanning pre-Second World War to the fall of Communism, and a son’s reckoning with the secrets of the past.

An extraordinary true story of growing up inside MI6, uncovering family secrets, and tracing a legacy of British espionage across half a century. 
'Simply stunning ... might be the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read about post-war SIS' CHARLES BEAUMONT 
-- 
It has always been inculcated into me that no good could ever come of having anything to do with my father… 
As a boy, Alistair Wood lived within the (very high) walls of a Secret Intelligence Service – or MI6 – training camp, surrounded by some of the most senior - and colourful - characters in SIS history. 
After all, he was family. His mother was one of a handful of women to have operated behind the lines in post-war Berlin. His father, once one of Britain’s most highly-regarded intelligence officers, was an absent and perplexing figure, the reasons for his sudden departure from the Service still classified to this day. 
But Wood’s search for the truth took him on a journey more remarkable than even he had imagined. 
My Family and Other Spies is a gripping exploration of an extraordinary, scarcely believable life, a globe-trotting spy story that spans a half century from the gathering storm before the Second World War to the fall of Communism, and a son’s reckoning with the secrets of the past. 
-- 
Praise for My Family and Other Spies 
‘A remarkable insight into British intelligence in the Cold War…with all the intrigue and suspense of a truly gripping espionage novel' ALEX GERLIS 
'A compelling personal journey to uncover the truth and an intimate view into one of Britain’s most secretive organisations' HELEN FRY

‘Received application from Mr John Bryan Wood, a British subject, to volunteer for service to HMG. Gives qualifications and suggests that he would be most suitable for intelligence work’ 
British Consul-General, Mexico City, 1940 
 
‘The female staff in our office often talked about an absent officer who was undergoing instruction near Toronto at Camp X, the British training camp for secret agents … he was a mysterious figure, of unknown nationality, described as being brilliant but eccentric’ 
British Security Co-ordination official, New York City, 1940 
 
‘I left JBW in charge of the tunnel operation … it was one of five or six big operations we ran. But of course it’s the one that everybody knows about’ 
Harold Shergold, SIS/MI6 Soviet Block Controller, discussing the Berlin tunnel, Operation GOLD 
 
‘It was only when he produced a British passport at the airport that I learned my new husband was not, after all, Norwegian’ 
JBW’s former wife 
 
‘He had been “advising” in Iraq – and a fine mess we have had in the Middle East too’ 
My mother to Aunt ‘A’ (both former SIS officers) 
 
‘A rocket came sailing in through my bedroom window and if it is stlll there I would like to keep it as a memento’ 
JBW to his successor in Saigon, 1971 
 
‘Vow No. 8 I will not tell a lie, even in jest’ 
From JBW’s daily vows 
 
‘His conduct in this affair shows a total lack of veracity and integrity’ 
Report on JBW to UN Secretary-General

As one of the only members of his family not to have been employed by the Secret Intelligence Service, Alistair Wood has enjoyed a reassuringly respectable (and successful) career in advertising, working in the UK, US, Korea, and South-East Asia. He lives in London.

My Family and Other Spies

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My Family and Other Spies is a remarkable insight into British intelligence in the Cold War, eloquently told through the unlikely but compelling medium of a family memoir and with all the intrigue and suspense of a truly gripping espionage novel

A compelling personal journey to uncover the truth and an intimate view into one of Britain’s most secretive organisations

About Alistair Wood

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